All it takes, is Hi
by slapshack
Summary: Naruto is all alone. He has no one. Never having known his parents. An orphan. He is unknowingly harboring one of the most powerful entities ever to plague the ninja world. The villagers mistreat and shun him. They tell their kids to do the same because of his tenant. Life is a challenge. But one faithful afternoon, watch as one child unknowingly changes the world by saying " Hi "
1. Chapter 1

Naruto********** + Ino Pairing **D.P= Different Point of view F.B= Flash Back  
I massively appreciate comments and support. I fully intend to finish this story to the bloody end. ( Hopefully not to bloody )

**Please Note that this is the first chapter. I plan to write about 60 altogether. Updates every day! Please bear with me. This is going to be an epic story. Belive it!**

**P.S - I don't own Naruto. **

It was a beautiful spring afternoon in Konoha. Birds chirped softly as they scavenged for worms and squirrels fought for acorns in the forest area surrounding the impressive village. The massive walls surrounding the town were nothing to cough at, but they were completely over-shadowed by the gargantuan monument carved into the cliff that protected Konoha's back. The monument showed off the four previous kage's faces in all of their glory, intimidating anyone who know anything about these legendary shinobi. All of them being previous leaders of the village. The sun shone on these faces making them look even more amazing, if that was even possible. There was a soft wind blowing through the village, rustling the trees surrounding the town and whispering good cheer about the coming summer.

Civilians, shops, and apartments lined the streets. Light poles and complicated alley-ways riddled the lanes of road. The buzz of human activity could be heard through-out the town as people went about doing things that needed to be done. In the outskirts of the village were more homes, these larger than the ones found in the main hub. Shinobi clans usually inhabited these areas. Around the inner edge of the wall were various training grounds for shinobi to practice various skills. These were well used. Each ground shared both similar and different scars from the years upon years of use. In the far center of the bustling town was a large building that housed the current kage, as was customary in each major village. This building was a deep red and four massive arching pillars flanked the outside ceiling. All in all, a very peaceful sight for anyone that inhabited Konoha.

This beauty was lost upon a downcast and lonely looking child that sat on a still swing in the local park, the wind pushing the boy ever so slightly. This boy appeared to be about five and a half years old. He had shockingly blue eyes with a mop of yellow hair on his head and slight whisker marks across his cheeks. He wore a ragged black t-shirt with green shorts and small sandals. His hair covered his eyes as tears softly rolled down his face. He shook slightly as soft sobs racked his body.

Why? Why do the villagers hate me? Why do they shun and drive me away as I walk down the street? Why do they not let me buy clothes and refuse to serve me food in their resturants? Why do the children whisper and snicker at me behind my back? Why do they run away when ever I try to play with them? Why? He gently drew his name in the dirt of the park with a small stick, looking at it with a small amount of anger. " Naruto", he whispered. He didn't even realize someone was approaching until he heard the footsteps just a few feet away. His natural reaction was to cringe as he was expecting a kick or a harsh scolding. But instead, he got a timid " Hi."

D.P

The Yamanaka clan were a proud and high stature amazing mind transfer techniques were a legend in the field of espionage and still are today. Members of the family more often than not ended up in the interrogation division, as their skills were appropriate. Their family ran a flower shop, well known to everyone in Konoha. At the moment, the next generation of Yamanaka was walking along side her dad. Around the same age as Naruto, she had almost white blond hair tied in a small pony tail. A small purple kimono covered her person. On her face was a cute but mildly serious facial expression . She tried to copy her father as much as possible.

The Patriarch of the family had the same hair color done in the same way. He was tall and wore a jounin jacket around his torso. Always having a serious look on his face as he was the cool and calculated type. " Ino, don't get to ahead of me !" He stared and sighed lightly as she skipped down the side walk, having not heard a thing he said.

Suddenly she stopped, looking towards the playground that was nearby. He followed her gaze to a small, crying boy on a still swing. Inoichi Yamanaka grimaced. Secretly, he empathized for the boy as he had watched over the years what the villagers were doing to him. Not really blaming the boy himself for what was inside Naruto. He had nothing to do with what he harbored, and yet the people of Konoha treated him like it was all his fault. The near destruction of the town almost five and a half years ago brought a sad and thoughtful expression to his face as he thought. He could never really approach the boy for fear of his clan joining the mess Naruto was in. He didn't even notice his daughter look at him expectantly before quietly and quickly approaching the crying boy.

D.P

Ino loved walking through the village with her father. It was one of her favorite activities besides flower arranging, which in itself was an art. She considered briefly that she wanted to be as good as her mother one day. Her mother, who was a master at the delicate and beautiful craft, was slowly teaching Ino everything she could. She skipped ahead with happy thoughts as she enjoyed the wind in her face and hair. The billowing of her purple kimono made her giggle. All of a sudden she heard crying, stopping Ino dead in her tracks. Curious, she looked around only to find the source sitting on the park swing. She stared at the boy with yellow hair and whisker marks who was getting nasty looks from the other kids playing in the sandbox. Before she knew what she was doing, she quietly walked across the soft dirt until the sobbing boy was withing touching distance. She thought for a second before timidly saying " Hi."

D.P

Naruto quickly looked up as he realized it was a simple greeting. His gaze was met with aquamarine eyes. Staring at her, he saw the light blonde hair in a pony tail and the fierce aquamarine eyes that were still looking back at him. She was no older than he... why was this person coming up to him? Doesn't everyone in the village hate me? He quickly wiped his tears before staring at the ground again. Ino quirked her head to the side and looked down. She saw _Naruto_ written in the dirt. " Naruto, is that your name?"

He snapped his head up. No one had ever asked him his name before, let alone in a soft and inquisitive tone.

Still not answering, Ino took the lead. " I'm Ino Yamanaka!" She held out her hand expectantly. Being in a high class family, this was second nature to her. Still unsure of what to do, he just stared back. Ino sighed " Your supposed to take my hand and shake it dummy, " saying it like the gesture was common knowledge, which it was. He tentatively held out his hand. Ino proceed to grab it and shake it lightly. She was on the verge of asking him more questions when her father came. He quickly took her by the hand and led her away from the shocked boy. " But daddy I wanted to ask more questions!"she said as he slightly dragged her away. " Now now Ino, I'm sure you will get another chance".

The cogs were all ready turning in Inoichi's head as he thought about the situation. As they walked home, he made a decision. He smiled to himself as he thought about how much flak he'd get from this. Screw the council. That boy needs a friend more than anything. " Ino ?" she stopped. " Yes daddy ?" " Don't listen to what the other adults or kids say about that boy. He's a good kid, you hear?" She nodded. " Yes daddy. I won't". Satisfied, they turned into their home doorway. The smell of moms cooking already reaching their noses.

D.P

Naruto looked shocked as he watched the two, hand in hand, walk away. Never in his wildest dreams would he have imagined someone ( his age none the less ) try to genuinely talk to him. He felt a slight pang of sadness as he saw the way she looked up to her father. The only people that didn't hate him were the hokage and Ichiraku ramen. The ramen shop being run by Teuchi and his daughter Ayame. Some of the only good memories that he had so far where there. The ramen made there however was legendary, some might say the best in the land. He'd have to agree.

Sighing dejectedly he began the journey back to his run down and extremely messy apartment, making sure to avoid contact with villagers as much as he could. Usually if he stayed out of their way, they wouldn't bother he walked, Naruto thought back on how he acquired his humble abode.

F.B

_" Naruto. I am giving this apartment to you . Since you will be living alone, I will be sending a small payment to you every month so you can pay the rent. Make sure you eat more than just ramen. Any question's Naruto?" Naruto gave a big smile. " None Oji-san. Oh man, this is so cool!" The hokage watched as naruto ran around the apartment checking out his new home with the interest that would be expected from a four year old. He smiled slightly. All of a sudden, Naruto stopped in the middle with a confused look on his face. " Oji-san... why would I eat anything but ramen?" The old hokage held his head in his hands as he faced the daunting task of explaining proper nutrition and food facts to the excited and hyper kid before him.  
_

_He felt greatly saddened as he left. He closed the door behind him and leaned against it gently. Considering the fact that the villagers would treat him very differently he knew Naruto would be in for a rough time. Because of his responsibilities he would probably not be able to talk with Naruto in his office to much, if at all. The hokage hoped Naruto could make some kind of friends. He sighed. I'm getting to old for this._

_F.B End_

Naruto walked into his messy but ramen smelling apartment. It was pretty much all one room with different doors branching out into different facilities. He had a bathroom, a small kitchen, ( which might I add was covered in ramen cups everywhere ) a modest table in the middle of the room, and a small bed inclined into the wall. His favorite blue jammies along with his night cap lay on the bed neatly folded. Laying around the floor surrounding his bed were scrolls. He had gotten these for his fifth birthday from hokage himself. Each one containing stories of legendary ninja and their awesome jutsu.

He plopped down on the bed and thought about the events that happened today. Naruto was getting used to the fact that he was a magnet of hate because of something he did. What could he have possibly done to get so much mistreatment? He racked his brains. Was it one of his pranks? No... Throwing water balloons at innocent civilians didn't justify this much mistreatment. Besides that thought, he really couldn't think of anything he did that would attract this much attention. For a moment, he thought he had heard a small chuckle in the back of his head. Meh. He really was tired.

As he usually did in the evening, Naruto flipped out of his window and lay on the roof of his apartment. He may have been just five and a half, but his thought process was deep.

He thought about who his parents were. Why would they leave him like this? Didn't they love him? He sighed and stared up into the stars, hoping that they would reveal the answer. The moon looked massive from where he was lying, taking up most of his view. He always looked for the ninja on the moon. Sometimes making out his face, sometimes not. After a while , his young mind caught up to him. He crawled back into his bedroom, changing into his blue jammies and nightcap. He fell asleep almost instantly as he slipped underneath the covers and his head touched the pillow.

- A pair of blood red eyes suddenly opened in the darkness. Slits like a cats ran through them as they adjusted to the annoying darkness. A growl emanated from a massive red fox who had nine twitching tails, his head on his paws. The kyuubi himself was mind numbingly board. And irritated. Board because he had absolutely nothing to do, and irritated because he still couldn't believe he was stuck inside a five and a half year old boy. One of his nine tails twitched with annoyance at the constant dripping of a pipe in the sewer like area he was stuck in. ( Naruto's mindscape to be exact ) In front of him was a massive gate, reaching from the floor to the ceiling. A seal planted firmly on the other side. **That seal. That damn seal is the only** **thing keeping me inside this place.**

The nine tails growled as he thought about the situation. The eight trigram seal the fourth hokage had used to trap him allowed a little bit of chakra flow through the seal when needed. In time, he might be able to weaken it with enough use. Naruto wasn't even sure of his existence. He found it amusing that this stupid kit held inside of him one of the most powerful forces on earth, and yet he had no idea he was here. He merely shrugged and curled up into a massive ball of red fluff. His mind racing with long term ideas to escape his prison. **Just you wait kit. Im coming for you.**-


	2. Chapter 2

Naruto awoke to the glaring light that streamed through his window. He winced as his eyes adjusted to the room. Today he planned to train. His dream was to one day become hokage, so the entire village could look in awe at his strength. Of course, he was just five , but he held a conviction in his heart to fulfill it. Because of his social short comings ( I.e people hating him ) if he stayed out of their way, they usually left him alone. Only once did he remember villagers chasing him with blood lust in their eyes. Strangely enough, it was on his birth-day. He shrugged. Changing into his only pair of decent clothes. A bright orange jumpsuit.

He didn't know why. He just loved the color. He promptly made breakfast, ( I.e more ramen ) his hands going though the motions as smoothly as could be. After eating, he flipped out of his window and stood on the roof. Taking a big swig of air, he shouted " WAAAHOOO!," and pumped his fist into the air before leaping off of his apartment, ready to take on the day. He landed in the street and was off, swiftly dodging civilians and occasionally sticking his tongue out at some. As he bent around a corner, he suddenly ran into someone and they both fell to the ground. He prepared himself for a beating... which never came.

He opened his eyes and was surprised to see the girl that had approached him the day before. She herself was recovering from the collision and was about to go ham on whoever had knocked her down when a hand reached to her face. She tentatively took the small hand. Ino suddenly smiled seeing the face of the crying boy she had approached yesterday. Delighted that she could ask all the questions she had wanted to. Before she could say anything though, he asked with a bit of caution " are you ok ?"

She nodded . " Sorry about that " he said. " I should be more careful turning corners." He rubbed the back of his head, as he did when he was embarrassed. Ino nodded , almost in a huff as she extended her hand like last yesterday. This time he was ready. He almost immediately took her hand a gave it a light shake. " I'm Ino Yamanaka." " Naruto Uzumaki." Ino looked down at her light purple dress and sighed. " Mommys gonna be mad at me for getting it dirty."

Naruto really was sorry. He just didn't know how to put it in words. Never having any friends in the first place. He was broken from his thoughts as Ino asked Naruto , " Why were you crying yesterday?"

He looked down on the ground, tears forming in his blue eyes. He managed to get out through sniffles ," Al - all the - v- vil - villagers - h - hate me." Even as he said this, people were giving him nasty looks as they walked by. Most of them hatred, some annoyance, and maybe even a few sympathetic tilts of the head.

At this Ino smiled and simply said ," I'll be your friend." Naruto looked at her, complete disbelief on his face. " What did you just say?" Ino huffed a little, staying patient with Naruto. " I said I'll be your friend " she said with a smile only a child could pull off. He wiped the tears from his face and gave Ino a massive Naruto esque grin. " Yay! I have a friend!" She was also excited. There was something about him... Engaging in conversation wasn't hard for them as they walked down the street, towards the training ground.

Ino had in her arms a bouquet of flowers, witch Naruto promptly asked about. " Oh these? I was delivering them to one of costumers. Pretty aren't they?" Naruto had to agree with his new found friend. The array of red roses, purple lilys, and yellow buttercups were beautifully arranged. She looked into the sky, a determined look in her eyes. " I want to be as good a flower arranger as my mommy someday !" Naruto glanced at her." Don't you want to be a ninja as well ?" she cocked her head to one side, a confused look on her face. " What's a ninja?"

Naruto excitedly explained what ninja were and what they did. Ino nodded at this, her little pony tail bobbing. She had seen people like that in the village, run across rooftops. He also shouted out with pride that he was going to be hokage some day. Ino quite knowing what he meant. They continued to talk until they reached one of the training grounds at the edge of the village. " What are we doing here?" Ino had never been to a training ground and the concept was very foreign to her. " This is where shinobi train to become stronger!" As he said this, he got down on the ground and started doing push ups. Ino sat down and watched in amazement as he got out about 50 before dropping to the ground. His usual regime was pushups , pull ups, crunches, and jogging around the inner edge of the village.

Because Naruto had no one to teach him, he couldn't work on what he really wanted to learn. Basic ninja techniques like chakra control, taijutsu, and ninjutsu. Genjutsu didn't really interest him to much at all. He learned all this from the few scrolls the hokage had given him last year for his birthday. He looked at Ino for a few seconds. " Why don't you train with me?" Although she did admit it looked fun, she couldn't the way she was dressed.

She promised Naruto to come and train with him next time. He couldn't wait to meet up with his new friend tomorrow. He watched her walk off as he jogged in the opposite direction

D.P

Ino's mother was at home, delicately preening and placing flowers in a vase for one of their costumers. She looked up from her work and glanced at the clock. Ino should have been back by now. Where was that troublemaker? Just as she thought about looking for her, Ino burst through the front door and walked straight up to her with a look of concentration as she picked her words." Mommy! I want to train to be a ninja." Ino's mother looked at her daughter in surprise.

She thought to herself. Ino wasn't supposed to start academy until next fall. But if she did start basic training now, she didn't she why not. Ino might have a lead on her class mates. She supposed it would be alright if Inoichi took the burden. She sighed warily and nodded her confirmation. Ino smiled and was about to start celebrating when her mother interjected.

" _But_ on one condition. Your father is going to train you until I say otherwise, okay?" her daughter huffed before complained. She knew Inoichi wouldn't take it easy with her. "

The young Yamanaka then remembered she had forgotten something. Pulling on her mothers sleeve she hopefully asked, " Can Naruto train with me to?" Now this truly shocked Ino's mother. Everyone knew who Naruto was. He was the container for kyuubi. And everyone knew that he was cruelly mistreated. She personally didn't find him at fault. But if Ino started to socialize with this boy, it might have effects on the families social status.

" Your father and I will think about it." That was not the response Ino wanted. " Why mommy? Why is everyone mean to him?" Ino's mother gave her a stern look. " We'll tell you when your older, okay? Now is not the time to talk about something like that." In a huff, she ran up to her room and shut herself up. Ino is definetly more bull headed than I thought. She put her head in her hands.

- Few hours later -

Inoichi had returned from some duties only to find his wife nervously pacing the living room. " Is something the matter?" She looked at him. " Ino wants to start training." He raised his eyebrows as the next piece of information came. " Naruto wants to train with Ino as well. Under you." He processed this. While he was more than happy to start training Ino, he wasen't quite sure about Naruto. He thought back to what _he_ had told himself yesterday " _Screw the council." _

He kissed her on the cheek and gave his answer. " Up until now Naruto has been all alone. He hasen't had anyone to look up to. I think its a good thing to do if I trained Naruto and Ino. He needs a friend more than anything. Don't you agree?" His wife gave a resounding sigh, " Yes your probably right. Just be careful." He smiled, glad his partner could understand.

Throughout this whole conversation, Ino had been siting on the steps. Listening to them talk. He doesn't have any friends? Well she was glad that she could be the first. There was something about that boy that seemed special. She couldent put her finger on it. Ino shrugged. She looked forward to start training tomorrow, although her father was unlikely to give her any sort of reprive.

D.P

Naruto thought as he jogged around the village. His breath sounding in his ears. Jogging for him was a relaxing and peaceful activity when he wanted to think. He thought about his first friend and how he looked forward to training with someone other than himself. Hopefully he could get some actually instruction from an adult. He wondered how the adult would treat stopped as he reached the top of the mountain with the monuments carved into them. He stood on the head of the fourth hokage, this for some reason being his favorite spot. The view was absolutely breathtaking. The whole village stretched out before him as if he was the leader. As if everyone respected him. He shook his head, returning to jogging around the town as the sun slowly set in the distance. Setting the sky on fire.

- Next Day -

Naruto woke up extra early. This in itself was odd. He never woke up before the sun. He always made sure not to stay up to late, its not like he had much to do anyway. He groggily got up from the warm comfort of his sheets before shuffling into the shower. The ice cold water woke him up very quickly. After his shower, he changed into his ever folded and ready orange jumpsuit. Jumping out of his window like usual, he watched the sun rise slowly.

As the sun touched the horizon, he jumped down and quickly made his way toward the same training ground he had gone to yesterday. He passed food venders selling wares, the amazing smell of various food items hit Narutos nose. He had an unusually strong nose which was almost always a good thing. Naruto sighed in relief as he spotted two sets of blonde pony tails standing next to each other in the grounds, one much higher than the other. Ino heard his approach and waved to him with a smile," Hi Naruto!" Naruto waved back as he walked up to the two. " Hi ino!" Ino was wearing a small purple t-shirt and purple shinobi shorts, perfect for training. Naruto was beginning to suspect she had a love for purple.

He turned to her father who was standing with a small smile on his face. Without thinking, Naruto stuck out his hand nervously. Inoichis smile grew a little as he realized his daughter was already teaching Naruto how to socialize. He grasped Narutos hand in a firm handshake. " Nice to meet you naruto."

Naruto was suprised at the smile on Inoichis face. The only adult expression he had ever known was hate. ( besides the hokage ) Naruto realized that he already liked the tall blonde jounin. Inoichi took a step back and layed down some ground rules. " Rule number one. You two will wake up every morning at 5 am and come down to the grounds to begin training. Even when I'm not here. Rule number two. You two will do exactly what I say when I say it. And rule number three. You two will call me sensei when we are on the grounds. Off you may call me what ever is appropriate. Okay?"

The small children nodded vigorously. The prospect of such an early morning made both of them grimace, but they understood. Inoichi clapped his hands together once. "Okay, lets get started!" Hmmmmm... where should I begin? " I suppose I could start with what chakra is and how it works." The children nodded eagerly. " Chakra is the moulding of the physical energy present in every cell of the body and the spiritual energy gained from exercise and experience. It is an essential to almost all of living life." The children looked at him blankly. *sigh* " Chakra is energy inside us that keeps us alive." Hearing this both of the children smiled, understanding the bare bones explanation. He continued. " Chakra is the energy that you use when you activate a justu of any kind. For this, you will need chakra control. Chakra control is as it sounds. The better you can control your chakra, the more effective your jutsus will be in every way. You two still following me?" They both nodded. " There are 5 elements of chakra. Fire, wind, lightning, water, and earth.

Most shinobi are born with just one element. In rare cases , there are shinobi that are born with two elements. This is possible with a kekkei genkai. In time, I will test you two to see what sort of element you have, and we'll go from there. Understand?" The two nodded once again to show that they had absorbed every single word of what he just said. "For the time being, we will work on taijutsu, chakra control, conditioning, and weapon technique." As Naruto heard the last category being said, his ears perked up. Inoichi noticed this. " Oh? Is there a certain weapon that you would be interested in Naruto?" He blushed slightly. He had always been fond of carrying long sticks around, swinging them wildly and hitting make believe enemies. He grinned his signature grin, " I love carrying around long sticks" was all the answer the young boy could give.

Their sensei mulled on this briefly. Someone interested in staff work? This would be interesting... " Ok kids. Time to get to work!" He said this with a slightly malicious look on his face, which for him meant they were in for it. They both groaned.

- 10 hours later -

He couldn't believe he had survived. He and Ino had spent the whole day, stopping only for lunch, working out a brutal but effect schedule. He smiled to himself, at this rate he'd be the hokage in no time. Ino broke his thoughts as she collapsed beside him, both of them just finishing a 5 mile run around the village. ( he was secretly used to this ) He looked back on his first day of real training. Inoichi had made sure to go over the basics of chakra control as they had tried to walk on water. Naruto shivered at the thought of the ice cold liquid. Taijutsu was almost completely foreign to him. ( natural as he is just a child ) They had spent a better half of the day working on basic taijutsu stances. A good chunk of the afternoon was taken up by conditioning. Push-ups, pull ups, crunches, sprints, and very light spars. The whole ordeal had left him completely exhausted. The same could be said about Ino as well. Her hair sticking out in weird places and the light sheen of sweat on her face.

Their sensei walked over and ruffled Ino's hair affectionately. She had done surprisingly well for her first time. Naruto however, was something else. He had found out only a few hours ago how unnaturally massive his chakra reserves were for a 5 year old. This granted him a stamina boost that was impressive to say the least. He suddenly thought it a good idea to let them celebrate their new found friendship. " Ok guys, well done. I think you two deserve a treat after all that hard work." Both of them beamed, Naruto having never been complimented before. The promise of a treat only made it sweeter. The two children followed Inoichi through the sof streets of Konoha, sometimes getting a mean look. At this point, Naruto didn't care. He had made his first real friend and found his first real sensei. This day was to good to be marked off by some passing looks. The young boy whooped in joy as their destination came within view. Ichiraku Ramen. Ino had never had ramen before so she just followed Narutos lead, running into the small restaurant with a happy smile. Inoichi came through the flaps only to see Naruto stuff down bowl after bowl of his favorite miso ramen. Ino just sat there, staring at the steaming bowl of noodles before taking a slurp. Her features lit up instantly, official declaring this the tastiest thing she had ever had. Inoichi winced, daring not think what his wife would say if she had heard that.

He walked over to Teuchi. The store owner smiled at the boy as he tried to nick some noodles from Inos bowl, only to be punched in the face as she fiercely defended her dinner. " I'm glad Naruto could make at least one friend. He deserves it." The Yamanaka nodded slightly. "They seem to get along together very well. I've never seen Ino so happy around someone her age. Maybe she just wanted to help him. I don't think she knows how much he needed her." Teuchi gave him a glance." You realize that the villagers are just going to try even harder to break his resolve." Inoichi smiled grimly. " That kid couldn't buckle if he wanted himself to. He has a personality that would not break under the the weight of the world." He sighed." I better get them out of here before they tear the place apart, whats the bill?" He jaw dropped to the floor, looking at the dozens of consumed bowls of ramen. The price reaching deep into his wallet. "NARUTOOOOOOO!"


	3. Chapter 3

**- **Two and a Half years later -

" Happy Eighth Birthday Naruto!" Shouted everyone as he walked into Ino's home. Naruto's face was a mix of surprise and joy. The scene that lay before him was almost to beautiful for words. All of his friends were there, celebrating his own birthday. Never in his wildest of dreams, would he imagine something like this ever happen to him. Two and half years had gone since he had first met Ino. He couldn't believe how the time flied. First of all, he had not been expecting a birthday party. He was much to humble to ask for presents. And secondly, he had not expected this many people to come. ( at least by his standards ) The Yamanakas, Shikamaru and his family, and Choji's family. Naruto, Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji had instantly become fast friends as their families introduced each other. Naruto wouldn't trade their company for the world.

Shikamaru was a thin and fairly tall. His brown eyes always looked board. The boy had spiky brown hair wrapped up into a stiff pony tail. His attitude for life was almost unbelievable. Shikamaru's lazy-ness was almost infectious, writing off almost anything they did as a drag. His favorite non-active activity was cloud watching. He could lay there for hours, watching the shape shifting white puffs of condensation pass by. Of course this meant that he wasn't the most diligent when it came to training. When ever he or Ino had offered an afternoon of sweat, blood, and tears, Shikamaru always wrote it off. He threw his coined quote out on the table whenever he felt it needed to be.*sigh* " What a drag."

Choji was a whole different story. He was very chubby, but just a little bit shorter than Naruto. His cheeks had red swirls on them, signifying his clan. Choji's brown eyes were ( no surprise here )full of the lust to eat. Wherever the gang would go, he always brought some sort of snack with him. It was astonishing the amount of food the boy could bring with him, sometimes taking dozens of bags of chips out of his seemingly bottomless rucksack. The gang did learn however with time, that if you called choji fat, friend or foe, he'd go crazy and try to steam roll you with his signature jutsu.

Ino was his best friend. Ever since that fateful day almost two and a half years ago, his life had changed all for the better. It was all thanks to her. She had grown a bit, a few inches here and there. Almost as tall as Naruto. Her hair had also grown out a bit, but never leaving the ponytail. She had gotten in the habit of wearing a purple shinobi sweatshirt with purple female ninja shorts. Her love for purple had grown with the years, leaving behind a trail of non-purple items in the Yamanaka residence. Her aquamarine eyes were probably her most striking feature. They had seemed to get slightly lighter as the years passed, Naruto seeping every detail filed away in his mind.

Although he wasn't part of the families Ino-Shika-Cho group, he still belonged with the three kids. Ino being the natural boss of the gang, she decided what they did on a regular basis. Naruto happy with anything as long as he could spend time with his friends. He hung out with Ino more than anyone every thought possible though, given her personality. She was naturally bossy and sometimes a smidgen arrogant, but she had another side which to many people didn't see. A caring, friendly face that Naruto only ever saw. He briefly remembered all the times she had cheered him up when he was feeling down.

Ino walked up to him and gave him a light slug in the shoulder as she smiled. " Happy birthday blockhead." This was her way of showing affection. The nickname she had given him was simply because she enjoyed saying it more than just his name. Also enjoying the fact that it was a cute nickname overall. Naruto had gallantly accepted is as part of his fate. Naruto grinned at Ino before giving her a quick hug. She blushed quietly and returned the gesture, Naruto only did something like this when the occasion was special or he was just really happy. She didn't mind her family watching, or Shikamaru's... or Choji's... Gently rejecting the idea, she socked him on the head not to lightly before returning to where they were handing out gifts. Naruto just grinned to himself as he rubbed his sore head. This was Ino. He then turned to the rest of his friends. Walking over to Shikamaru and Choji, he fist bumped them both. " Happy Birthday Naruto" they said in unison. " Thanks guys." He walked over to the adults, Inoichi just ruffled his hair. Naruto having become almost like a son to him. " Happy birth day Naruto!" The adults all said with big smiles. Watching him grow over the past few years was amazing.

D.P

Ino's father watched his daughter and her best friend grow. Him training them of course. They had improved in leaps and bounds, more so than he thought possible. Their taijutsu had improved massively. Naruto preferring a rigid stance, both arms at his side until he needed them. Quick rigid strikes were his game. Ino on the other hand liked fluid and connecting motions. One attack flowing into another. With more than a few spars under their belt, the pair were far ahead of anyone in academy. Their chakra control was excellent. They could effortlessly stand on water and walk up trees like it was second nature. Ninjutsu was something he was excited to start soon. Inoichi already had plans for Ino, as she held the same skills as he did. Mind control techniques and maybe healing jutsu. Naruto on the other hand was a wild card. Having no idea what his element was, he would have to ask the hokage for advice when the time came. However, he had gotten a gift for the boy that he knew he would love.

Genjutsu was something that neither one of them showed any interest in. He was glad as he had never liked the art in the first place. As for the academy, both of them were thriving. He was glad both of them had started training so early, giving them a massive advantage over the classmates they had class with. He turned his attention to the boy tearing into his first present.

D.P

Naruto gleefully tore apart the first present by Choji's family. He whooped for joy as it turned out to be a limited edition, very rare, deluxe ramen cup. Only a few were known to exist in all of the five nations. He couldn't wait to see what it tasted like, already imagining the heavenly taste of the noodles covered in the warm broth that-. Naruto had to stop himself before he involuntarily tore into the deluxe food package. Naruto saw Ino give the ramen cup the same hungry eye. Ever since he'd introduced her to ramen she had held a love for it deep in her heart, almost as much as Naruto. He'd make sure to share it with her later. The next gift in line was from Shikamaru and his family. He opened up the tightly sealed package to find a bran spanking new set of ninja tools. One gift he sorely need. His old ninja tools having been worn down through years of use. He thanked the Nara's from the bottom of his heart. And finally, the Yamanaka's present. It was a long package, about 4 feet long. A little bit shorter than he was. Curious, he picked it up. It seemed to weigh about 5 pounds. Finally, after a brief minute of examining, he couldn't help it. Naruto ripped the gift paper off of the strange object until it had revealed itself.

His sea blue eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. He held in his hands, a metal staff. It was about as simple as it got, the whole body of the staff colored jet black only for it to be tipped by golden plates on each end. Having being fascinated by the art of the bo staff, he had never gotten a chance to practice with anything suitable, let alone actually have a perfect weapon. Naruto threw it around a bit, spinning and twirling the staff gently from the years of practice he had with forest sticks. It was perfect. " Where did you get this sensei?" " Well Naruto, I never did forget your reaction two and a half years ago, I made a special request to the ninja shop. I took about two years to make. They spent that time making the staff almost invincible, infusing seals and chakra into the very seams of the metal. I hope you like it."

Naruto once again grinned his signature lopsided grin. " I can't tell you how much this means to me. Thank you guys." But the gift giving was far from being over. All this time Ino had hidden a package behind her back, after he received the staff she quickly came over and handed him the purple gift wrapped present. She waited with baited breath for his reaction. He felt its weight... it was light and soft feeling. Eager to find out what it was, he gently pulled back the gift wrapped folds and to his great pleasure, found a little stack of clothes. He examined them with glee. The shirt was a standard mesh but with purple infused in the bindings. A long thin coat, colored purple and orange, and purplish orangish shinobi pants. There seemed to be something different about these articles of clothing... Before he could put his finger on it Ino proudly said , " I made these myself. You better like 'em knucklehead." She pouted a little.

" Wow! These are amazing! I can't wait to try them on." Ino smiled proudly at the comment. Naruto loved them. He really did need a change of clothes and this was perfect. Actually, he wanted to try them on right now. With kid like innocence, he quickly stripped down to nothing but his shorts, in front of everyone. The adults chuckled and the two boys just raised their eyebrows. Of course Naruto would do something like this. Ino however blushed as she saw just how much Naruto had grown. He had let his hair grow out just a tiny bit, letting his bangs fall lose. He had definitely gotten taller if not by a few inches. His face slender and strong, baby fat still visible in some places.

One thing that did catch her eye more than anything else was his body. Years of rigorous training had given him rippling muscles with toned skin. Ino found herself drooling, just a little bit. She snapped back to reality as Naruto gave her a funny look." Ino, you ok?" She blushed mightily and proceeded to walk over and smack him over the head. " Damn you Naruto " he heard her whisper as she almost ran out of the door.

" What did I do?" he said out loud. The rest of the party members shook their head, he was the worst when it came to identifying feelings. Especially his own. He shrugged. He tried on the hand mad clothes. They fit perfectly. Picking up the staff, he waved goodbye to the rest of the gang before chasing after Ino. Today was a beautiful spring day, he jumped up on the roof, enjoying the crisp autumn air in his face. Naruto knew where Ino would be, she would be under their tree. It was a tree that could be found on the inner edge of forest in training ground 5.

F.B

The pair had found it about two years ago when it was april fools day. They had planned to play a prank on their sensei by hiding from him and trying to cover their chakra signatures. They were small children and this was the most diabolical plan they could think of.

To them, skipping training was the ultimate prank. As Inoichi's back was turned, they silently ran into the surrounding brush, trying ever so hard not to giggle. Ino led the way as they searched for a tree that was suitable for their needs. Rounding the edge of forest clearing, she suddenly spotted the perfect hiding place. It was a fairly large oak, just a little bit taller than the trees around it. She saw an alcove in the center of the tree, perfect for two bodies to hide. She motioned to Naruto, he nodded. They both jumped up and landed on one of the big branches. There was a curve in the middle of the tree, perfect for hiding. Naruto went ahead and sat down, leaning against the curved part of the indention. Immediately he noticed that it fit his body almost perfectly.

Ino walked over and looked for a place to rest as well. She came up short. She then realized that she could sit diagnol to Naruto, which would be perfect. Sitting down next to him, her legs intertwined with his. Naruto didn't mind at all, in fact it was actually very comfortable. Ino as well was suprised to find that she was extremely comfy, their legs connecting like matching puzzle pieces. Thinking nothing of it, the pair held back giggles as they heard their sensei walk underneath the tree. " Naruto! Ino? " Inoichi grinned as he knew that they were in the tree. He just wanted them to have fun once in a while. He walked off the opposite way calling their names out every so often.

They high fived triumphantly, ecstatic the plan had worked. And before they knew it they were alone, with only the wind to keep them company. They reveled in the beautiful silence of the day. Ino's head began to nod forward from the sleepy warmth of the day and before he knew it, he joined her. The pair let out might yawns before silently falling asleep on the spot. Inoichi had returned a half hour later only to find his two students asleep, legs tangled together. He smiled, happy that they had become such good friends in the past months. Turning his attention to the task at hand, he began to look for a bucket and some water...

F.B End.

Naruto followed the familiar trail leading into training ground 5. Making a slight left, he continued until he he reached his destination. Looking up, he saw the familiar pony tail of his friend just over the outer edge of the tree. Naruto snickered quickly, a prank forming in his head. He quietly walked up the tree until he was within reaching distance. Carefully reaching over, he lightly tapped her on the shoulder. Ino gave a shriek and her first reaction was to slug however had disturbed her peaceful reading. She winced as she heard a familiar voice below groan in pain. Leaning over the tree, she stuck out her tongue and said," You deserved it blockhead. You had it comin!" He managed to throw out a response though his brief headache. " You hit harder every day!" Ino giggled to herself as she receded back into the tree. Naruto grinned slightly as he jumped into the thick branches, settling into his spot. legs intertwined almost automatically, it had become a habit. Both of them most comfortable when they could feel their legs supporting each others weight. Ino put down the scroll she was reading to look at the newly acquired staff on Naruto's back. It was attached with a piece of leather that could be easily unhooked.

He took it off of his back, both of them examining it in more detail. Naruto ran his fingers over the skin of the staff. It definitely felt like metal, but there was a slight warmth than shouldn't have been. He examined the other side, realizing that there was something engraved into the skin. He read it out loud softly. " Eternal Harmony." He said it again a few more times, growing to like it more and more. Ino had to agree, the name made the simple staff seem incredibly badass. The air was still as they talked about various things, like what their next activity would be at school. Their class would be holding a spar session tomorrow to test out each of the kids skills. The pair grinned, they always looked forward to kicking some butt, especially when they knew winning was almost guaranteed." Ino! Naruto!" The two children turned their attention to Inoichi, who was standing underneath the tree with his foot tapping. Birthday or not, training was still part of the day. They jumped down only to find him holding on to a couple of strange looking pieces of paper. He handed one to each of them. " Let me explain before you ask any questions. I think its about time that you two found out your chakra elements." Naruto couldn't help but cheer. He had been waiting for years to find out his signature, actually allowing him to learn some jutsu's. Ino also looked happy. Besides mind control techniques, she to wanted to learn some awesome jutsu. " The reason I brought these pieces of paper to you is simple, concentrate your chakra into your paper. It will have varying effects depended on what element you have.

Fire chakra will burn it away. Wind chakra will split it in two. Lighting chakra will wrinkle it. Earth chakra will turn it to dirt and make it crumble away. And water chakra will turn it damp. You first Ino." She nodded. Holding the piece of paper in her hand, she concentrated chakra into the paper. Without any warning, the paper turned moist and faded away. The young girl squealed in excitement, water was just what she wanted. Always having admired the way water element ninja manipulated and in some cases, got water out of thin air. Inoichi was slightly shocked. He had not expected his daughter to have any kind of affinity. No one in the family for generations had any sort of element. The main reason being that their abilities were mainly for espionage and interrogation. Mind control did not require any sort of element.

Naruto was up next. He was visibly shaking with excitement as he gently concentrated his chakra into the piece of paper. What happened next was nothing short of astonishing. The paper split into two parts before both pieces were engulfed in flames. Naruto just stared at the ashes of the paper, processing the information. His next reaction was to be expected, he jumped for joy as he backflipped around the training area. He couldn't help himself, two elements? This was impossibly cool to the boy as his mind already went into overdrive about all the cool jutsu's he'd learn. Ino grumbled slightly as she chased after him, why'd he get two elements? Inoichi was in disbelief. A shinobi born with two elements was very rare, granting it enough importance to make an appointment with the hokage himself. He sighed, it had become a unhealthy habit but thats what he got for teaching two energetic and eager kids. This was going to be very interesting.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks for all the love guys. I'll keep em' comin. **

The hokage's room was an area full of power and prestige. It was circular in structure, pictures of the previous kage displayed on the far wall, still giving off presence even in the after life. The famous desk where each kage did their paper work was no less intimidating. Although it looked like any other large oak desk, it still held a presence of command and importance. Here Hiruzen Sarutobi sat, digesting the new information Inoichi had just given him. Naruto Uzumaki had two elements, fire and wind. He had only seen a handful of cases where ninja were born with this incredible gift. The combination of two elements often gave way two new releases. One good example would be the current Tsuchikage, Onoki the fence sitter. He had the unheard of gift of three elements. Earth, wind, and fire. This had created the dust release. This release allowed him to destroy things at a molecular lever, giving the jutsu extremely destructive power.

Back to Naruto, he showed great promise. The fact that he started training so early and that he had two elements was a mix for a very powerful shinobi in the future. The old kage addressed Inoichi with stern command in his voice. " You and I both know that Naruto has massive potential. His chakra reserves are insanely large, he has two signatures, and he always wants to get stronger. Not to mention the kyuubi is sealed within him." Inoichi nodded. He had always kept that in mind when giving Naruto instruction, one wrong move might potentially bring out the kyuubi through him. He shuddered at the thought of facing with the nine tailed fox." Since You know almost nothing about elemental jutsu, I will provide you with the necessary scrolls needed for them to learn." The hokage hesitated slightly before giving Inoichi more instruction.

" I think it'll be a good idea to let them participate in the chuunin exams as soon as possible. At this rate, the pair will completely overshadow their classmates. The exams will be held in konoha in about 4 years, giving them plenty of time to train." He stood up and walked over to the window, staring out over his village. Or rather, Minato's village.

It was he, the fourth hokage that had protected konoha, giving his life to banish half of the raging kyuubi's chakra with him inside of the shinigami's stomach. Minato had hoped that sealing the rest of nine tails inside of his newborn son would make Naruto a hero. Hoping that the villagers would respect and welcome him into the community for saving konoha. But it had the exact opposite effect. The people needed someone to blame for the loss of their loved ones. Kyuubi was inside Naruto, so he was the one that had taken on the hatred of almost everyone. Sarutobi sighed, it seemed like he was doing well at the moment.

He turned to Inoichi. " I'll get someone to send you the scrolls they'll need to get started. " He paused. " You have done Konoha a great service, taking Naruto under your wing. I fear he would of been in much worse condition had you not. Thank you " Inoichi bowed and promptly left. He knew the hokage didn't give out thank you's easily. He was honored to have done the village such a service. As Inoichi walked out, he noticed an anbu officer waiting for him, a small number of scrolls in his arms. Without saying a word, he took them. The officer disappeared in a small gust of leaves.

D.P.

It was late afternoon as Naruto and Ino tried to get in some training before dark. Not to mention they were extremely eager to try some of their new jutsu. Ino was sitting in front a a pond, cross legged. Her face was scrunched up in concentration as she gently lifted a small circle of water from the pool. Moving the water around a bit, she tried to make it form different shapes. Unfortunately, she wasn't quite there yet as she dropped the globe of moisture. Ino grinned in satisfaction. It had only been a few hours and already she was making fantastic progress. Naruto's progress had been just as good. He already was grasping the basics of wind and fire release. He had also gotten in some staff practice, already it felt like an extension of his arms. At the moment, he was gently moving a small blow of wind around him, taking whatever leaves that were in tow. After a few minutes of this, he switched to fire. Going through the hand signs slowly, he softly blew a small stream of flame in front of him. Strangely enough whenever he did this, the fire didn't feel hot in the least.

Maybe it was because he had his chakra infused with the flame? Naruto shrugged. It didn't matter much to him. Sitting down cross-legged, he went over several advantages of having two chakra signatures. His mind being so creative, he had already planned for some kind of infusion of the two elements. Naruto slowly blew out a small stream of fire, he then tried to blow out some wind at the same time. Almost instantly, the combination blew up. Ino looked up from her work to make sure he was ok. " Oi' blockhead! You still alive?"

Naruto came limping out of the dust cloud he had created. Her eyes widened as she saw the extent of the damage. It looked like his left shoulder was dislocated, he was dragging a limp leg, and he had second degree burns all over his body. What ever had happened, it must have been extremely volatile. He gave a weak smile " I'm ok Ino, just a little experiment I had to try out. How's the water control comin?" She grimaced, " Don't give me that Naruto, we need to get you t-" She stopped suddenly, a look of disbelief on her face. Naruto's wounds were being treated right in front of her, as if there was an invisible healing shinobi. The burns fading away as if they had never been there. His leg repositioning itself as if it had never been broken. She gave him a curious look. Naruto shrugged, rolling his shoulder to make sure it was back in place. " Hey, what can I say. I was born with it. My wounds just seem to heal at a much faster rate than anyone else's." She filed away that piece of information for later. Looking around, the two kids had not noticed how late it had gotten. The sun all ready set.

Street lamps gave off a familiar buzz as the pair walked down the street. The smell of various restaurants called out as they walked by, both of them drooling at the thought of food. Now that he thought about it, Naruto realized how often they did this. It was almost routine. Wake up early, go to academy, spend rest of the day training, then walk each other home. He wouldn't trade the time he spent with Ino for anything. Even becoming hokage. When they got to the Yamanaka residence, Ino turned to the boy. " Wanna have dinner with us? Its spaghetti night " she said as she accented the word spaghetti. Saying it slowly. Naruto visibly restrained himself from running the house and eating all the noodles in sight. Having recently discovered it, he found out that spaghetti was somehow just as good as ramen if not better. " I'm sorry Ino I can't. I have a pile of scrolls sitting on my bedroom floor, begging to be read." She deflated a little. Ino always loved having him over for dinner, and not just to spend time with him. It was one of the only times she had seen him laugh. For some reason, he felt more at home with her family in terms of trading jokes and having a good time. Well, theres always the next night. " No problem Naruto. See ya tomorrow!" Naruto waved as he walked away, disappointed he had to cut the night short. However, his eyes gleamed brightly in the night thinking about all the amazing jutsu he'd learn. He brightened up when he thought about the deluxe ramen cup he had been given. Increasing his pace considerably.

- Next Day-

Today, his entire class would be having a spar match session outside. One versus one. He cracked his knuckles loud enough for everyone else to here. A few fights went by, nothing remarkable happening. After a boring 10 minutes, his name was called. " Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha!" The class gasped. Both of the boys were top notch, exceeding by a considerable amount what most of the class could do. Naruto stepped out into the ring just as his opponent did. Sasuke was black haired and black eyed. He wore a thin t-shirt showing off the Uchiha symbol on the back. Females his age everywhere thought he was the most beautiful thing on earth. Fan girls followed him around relentlessly, never giving him rest. Ino watched as Sasuke walked onto the field. Honestly, what did other girls see in him?

He was an arrogant, self centered, ice cold prick. He ignored everyone around him, almost never responding to attempts at normal conversation. Looks weren't everything you know. Naruto waited for the procter to lay out the basic rules, even though everyone already knew them. " No crotch shoots, ninjutsu , or stepping out of the line. Ok?" They both nodded. The teacher stepped out of the ring and rang the bell, signaling the fight had begun. Naruto instantly fell into the rigid stance he had grown to love. His hands were by his side, as if he didn't even consider Sasuke worth the it. Sasuke noticed this straight away, anger filling his features as he covered the ground between them. He threw out quick punches, aiming for a broken nose. Without to much effort, he blocked and deflected every single one.

Whenever a punch came his way, his hand would come up to deflect or block it only for it to return to his side In terms of kicking, Naruto's legs came up very quickly, just enough to block anything that came his way. Sasuke got angrier and angrier as Naruto blocked everything that came his way without even trying. He had realized his mistake when he overextended a punch in his rage, giving Naruto a very wide opening. Taking advantage of this, he turned on a tight pivot and used his momentum to smash his leg into Sasuke's side. The resounding smack was testament to how hard he had kicked. The attack sent Sasuke flying out of the ring and into the nearby training wall. Ino cheered , " Yeah kick his ass !" The other 98 percent of the female group booed Naruto loudly. The furious Uchiha demanded a rematch as he pulled himself out of the rubble.

" And the winner is, Naruto!" Naruto smiled as the furious Uchiha stormed out of the area, a trail of swooning girls following him. Ino walked up to him and gave him a high five ," Great job blockhead, he deserved every second of it." He nodded. Naruto had never liked Sasuke. He was indifferent to everything around him, and thought he was better than everyone else. This pissed Naruto off more than anything. He had some sort of complex that told him he was the best, just because of his family's name and reputation. Ah well, nothing he could do about that. They both looked up at the clear and beautiful sky. Autumn was coming.

The trees leaves were slowing turning into a molted brown and the air was crisp but not quite cold. This was Naruto's favorite time of the year. His birthday co-joined with the season, making it all the better. The pair walked down main street, talking and laughing about various things. Naruto still got dirty looks from villagers, who at this point couldn't care less. He was so used to it, the stares almost seemed natural to him. As they walked , Ino spotted Shikamaru and Choji further down the street. " Oi'! Shikamaru, Choji!" The two boys turned around and smiled at them, quickly joining the pair. " So lazy pants, why didja skip the spar?" Naruto asked Shikamaru. " I couldn't be bothered. It's such a drag to fight someone with no purpose." Choji joined in, munching on some chips. " I think so to! *munch* don't see the *munch* point in fighting *crunch* if there's* munch crunch* no danger."

Ino's eyebrows twitched as she heard the boy converse and eat at the same time. " How many times do I have to tell you Choji, chew with you mouth closed!" He swallowed quickly. " Sorry." She sighed. Some boys are so hard to deal with. The group stopped at Ichiraku at the insistence of both Naruto and Ino. " Hey old man Teuchi!" Naruto said as he quickly jumped onto one of the revolving chairs. " Great to see you again Naruto." It had been quite a while since the ramen shop owner had seen Naruto. A few months probably. " The usual?" Naruto nodded. " Its on the house this time. I haven't forgotten your birthday you know." The whole group grinned as they took advantage of this and almost ate the poor store out of it resources. Naruto, Ino, and Choji being the main villains of course.

In the end, they were shooed out of the store hastily, laughing uproariously as Teuchi and his daughter began to clean the mountain of bowls that piled up. Shikamaru and Choji waved goodbye as Naruto and Ino headed the opposite direction. Naruto suddenly had an idea, grabbing his friends hand. Ino was glad he couldn't she her blush as he lead her through the throngs of people, towards the mountain monument. After about five minutes of this, they reached their destination. They stopped to catch their breath. Ino was about to ask why they were standing on the village monument when she caught he breath.

Looking up at the sky, was the most beautiful night sky she had ever seen. Thousands upon thousands of stars were glimmering in the clear night sky and the moon was unnaturally large. The whole spectacle left her breathless as did Naruto. The pair sat down on top of the fourth hokage's head, their legs coming together like they always did." It's amazing isn't it" Naruto said in awe. " No kidding blockhead. I didn't realize that the sky was so pretty." How long they sat there they didn't know. It could have been minutes, hours, it all went by so fast, staring at the unbelievable amount of stars and constellations . Eventually, common sense took over. Ino stood up, sighing as she knew she'd get a scolding from her father for staying out so late. Her friend stood up as well, disappointed that they couldn't stay a little bit longer. He grinned sheepishly, " Sorry for dragging you out here, tell your dad I didn't mean to keep you out so late." Ino just shook her head. " No don't apologize, this was something I would have missed if you hadn't of brought me out here. Thank's Naruto." Before he could respond she quickly hugged him and left, her face red as a tomato.

Naruto just stood there, unsure of what to make of the situation. She had never hugged him before without him initiating the contact. He shrugged as Ino ran down the stairs of the mountain. " Goodnight!" Getting no response he chuckled. Sometimes, her stubborn attitude was amusing. He turned his attention to the village that lay before him. An idea popped into his head. Naruto ran towards the edge of the cliff and jumped off. Now normally this would be a bad idea as the cliff was several hundred feet off the ground, but he had a theory. The ground approached quickly as he feel. Before he broke both of his legs, he gathered as much wind as he could and directed it towards his feet. Naruto landed and was surprised at the soft touchdown. He smiled as he dusted off his coat, so manipulating wind could make you lighter if you needed it to. This new information excited Naruto as he made his way towards his apartment. Ideas shoot through his head, each one better than the last. When he got home, he quickly began writing down each and every thing he thought of. After this, he was full enough of ramen to warrant no dinner. Naruto walked over to his bed, still clad in the blue jammies and night cap that he had always worn. Picking up a ninjutsu scroll, he began to read. Reading before he went to sleep was always a relaxing thing to do. Before long, his mind slowly wandered off to another land as he fell asleep with a scroll in hand. Dreams in tow.


	5. Chapter 5

- Two years later -

Naruto ran. Not really knowing why, not really understanding where he was. He just ran, as fast as his legs would carry him. He ran for kami knows how long, never looking behind him. Finally, he stopped to catch his breath and looked around for the first time. He found himself in a sewer. A dark, dank , but surprisingly fresh smelling sewer. A small amount of water lapped at his feet. He took in his surroundings with look confusion on his face. What the hell was he doing in a sewer? How'd he even get here? Before he could even think about what to do next, he felt a presence. Or rather, he smelt it. It smelt like ... snakes ... and ... blood? He reeled at the overwhelming blood smell that was slowly entering his senses. In the darkness behind him, a terrifying chuckle rang out .

" Oh, little Naruto. Iv'e been watching you for quite some time. Watching your progress, you strengths and weaknesses. Your failures and you triumphs. Why, I could say I know everything about you." Naruto took a few steps back, a chilling fear ran down his spine. " Who's there? Sh- show yourself!" Why was he stuttering? He had never stuttered once in his life. This made him even more uneasy. The chuckle rang out again, closer this time. " Oh no, is someone scared? I thought grown up shinobi were supposed to be ... fearless."

This last word was whispered in his ear, hot breath on his neck. Naruto spun around in absolute terror. What he saw before him was beyond what word's could describe as horrifying. In front of him, lay the Ino he had grown up with and something was terribly, terribly wrong. She was on the floor, desperately trying to tear away something on her neck. Agonising screams of pain rang out of her as she writhed on the ground. Naruto quickly ran over and kneeled down, holding her head as he frantically tried to find out what was wrong." Ino what's wrong? Did someone do something to you? Tell me!"

She continued to writhe in his arms, screaming the same thing over and over as tears of agony poured from her eyes. " Make it stop! Make it stop! Make it stop Naruto! Make the pain-"Ino stopped screaming as she started to convulse violently in front of him. She gurgled on blood as it started to run out of her mouth and eyes. The blonde girl looked desperately at Naruto, tears of blood running down her face before she stopped suddenly. It had been over in less than fifteen seconds.

He looked in horror at her body, still in his arms. Ino didn't move. Her aquamarine eyes he had grown to love over the years, faded as the life left her body. Naruto shook as tears of his own dropped onto her dead face. " Ino... Ino... who did this to you? No... NO... INOOOOOOOOO!" The last thing he saw before blacking out, was a strange seal on the nape of her neck.

* gasp * " AHH! " Naruto jarred awake in his bed, sweat covering his body. He fell out of bed and rolled around on the floor with his eyes shut tight, wanting the terror to go away. He stopped after a few minutes, slowly opening his eyes.

Naruto felt the plush carpet under him as he shakily got up, looking around. Recognizing the kitchen and layout of his apartment, he slumped onto his bed. Damn. It had all been a dream. This alone unnerved him almost more than the dream itself had. Never once, in his entire life, had he dreamed. About anything. Now this could be only one of two things. Something completely irrelevant, or something that has some sort of meaning in the future. Naruto thought as the sun slowly began to rise behind him. He came to a decision. Ino would never hear of this, and it was probably some sort of weird dream that happened to everyone in some way. With this in mind, the day suddenly became much brighter.

Still... He couldn't get the image of Ino, dead in his arms, out of his brain. He shook his head, trying to push it away. Today was the day that his class graduated from academy. That meant squads of three were to be picked today. That also meant that Ino and his training with Inoichi would be over. Naruto grimaced at this thought. Inoichi had grown to become almost like a father to boy, teaching him the difference between right and wrong. Ah well, he hoped at the very least that Ino would be on his team. The Ino - Chika - Cho combination had been destroyed last year when Choji had fallen deathly ill. Completely out of the blue.

Naruto briefly remembered the long days of the group waiting outside of the hospital room, pacing and praying for his recovery. In the end, it was not to be. Choji had died from some sort of rare chakra eating virus. The virus had some how entered his body and began eating his chakra. It multiplied within days and very quickly, the virus had eaten dry Choji chakra veins. This of course meant death. Now one can live without chakra. One of the first lesson's he had ever gotten from Inoichi was that fact.

It was sickly ironic in a way. Choji loved eating and was eventually eaten himself. The image of Choji's parents at his bedside, crying in grief at their lost son flashed through his mind. Why was he thinking such morbid thought's on such a beautiful day? Naruto chuckled to himself, guess he just couldn't help it. Walking into the bathroom, Naruto looked at himself in the mirror. Staring back at him was a slightly taller, more lean and muscular self than he remembered. His hair hadn't grown to much. Whenever it did, Ino had insisted on cutting it so the hair wouldn't get in his eyes. On this matter she was contradicting herself to the extreme. Ino had grown her hair out to a longer ponytail. One half of her head had grown out so that it almost completely covered one eye with the platinum blonde hair. He always enjoyed teasing her about this fact , before getting a fist to his face of course. Quickly putting on his clothes that Ino had made him almost two years ago, ( that somehow still fit him ) he jumped out of the his window.

Naruto smiled as he saw Ino and Shikamaru already waiting for him. They had both grown a few inches, other than that not much had changed. He jumped down and approached the two, a lopsided grin on his face. " Hey guys, sorry to keep you waiting." He gave Shika a complex handshake that they had worked out a few years back to Ino's dismay , not being included. After this, Naruto then remembered the dream he had just experienced, and much to Ino's chagrin, approached her and gave her a tight hug. Not letting go for a few seconds. Almost unconsciously, she returned the hug. Not really knowing why he was hugging her in the first place but definitely not complaining.

He let go and looked her in the eyes, dead seriousness in his voice. " I hope you know that I will never let anything happen to you. I promise. " Having never seen Naruto so serious about something before, all she could do was nod. He broke out into his signature smile at that. " First one to school is a soggy noodle!" Naruto said as he ran ahead of the two. " Hey! No fair blockhead, I should be the one getting the head start!"

Shikamaru sighed as he watched the pair run off in the direction of academy. Life for him lately had been even more of a drag than normal. The sudden death of his best friend had hit him harder than anyone else, besides Choji's parents of course. His chubby friend had always been with him, munching away at some kind of snack or making jokes. Not having choji with him had seemed alien for quite some time. However, being the extremely cool and rational thinker that he was, he didn't mull on the subject. People died. Simple as that. It was a dog eat dog world, everyone trying to get that little extra bit of power to triumph over the next hurdle. He smiled slightly, Naruto and Ino were a handful enough. Not wanting to get left behind, he hurried after the them.

Naruto just barley beat Ino in the race to the academy. While he might have been stronger, she was lighter and considerably more graceful. He had tripped a few times. She catched up to him, not even out of breath. " Damn it Naruto, I would have won if you hadn't cheated!" He grinned. " Yeah. Guess that wasn't completely fair. Sorry Ino." She couldn't stay mad at him for long. She forgave him in her own way. Walking over to the outer academy wall and leaning against it, in a slight huff. They waited for Shikamaru, who took about ten minutes to catch up with them. The pair were used to this. Where ever they went, Shika lagged behind because he couldn't be bothered. The three of them entered the building, located their class, and sat together in the back. This was their usual spot. None of them really enjoyed being in the center of mayhem.

Naruto watched as kids filled into the room, most of them he didn't really care for. There was that pink haired girl that was always loud and swooning over that prick Sasuke, Sasuke , a boy that smelled and carried a little dog with him all the time, a white eyed boy who deemed himself better than everyone else , a white eyed girl that always seemed to be staring at him, and a quiet bug smelling guy. No one else was really that interesting. The crowd quieted down as their teacher walked in. Iruka was just about average as a teacher. He didn't really have any defining qualities about him that would stand out. " O.k class, you will now take a test to make sure you are ready for the title of genin. Each one of you will perform your best jutsu in front of the teacher's and they will decide whether or not you are ready. The class walked outside, into the fresh air. The teachers were lined up in a row waiting for each student to show there best.

First up, Sakura Haruno! The pink haired girl stepped out onto the stage. She looked around for a little before turning to the outer walls of the complex. Getting a running start, she approached the walls and punched it. Naruto was more than surprised to see a large crater. several feet deep in the wall. The teachers took notes. " Next up, Sasuke Uchiha!" The raven haired boy smirked at Naruto as he walked into the middle of the area. Making quick hand signs, he breathed in deeply, " Fire Style Fire Ball Jutsu " he shouted as he blew out a steady stream of red fire, burning a nearby see-saw. The teachers muttered to themselves excitedly, apparently impressed by the jutsu. Naruto just smiled to himself, he had something planned for that. A few people went by, Ino mind switched one of the teacher and Shikamaru trapped a student with a shadow capture technique. " Next up, Naruto Uzumaki!"

He walked confidently into the area, sticking his tongue out at the Uchiha. " I can do you one better for that pitiful fire ball jutsu. Naruto watched in amusement as several fan girls held him back as he tried to get a Naruto. He looked at the jungle-gym at the center of the playground. Making several many hand signs, he jumped into the air and took in a deep breath while saying saying, " Scorch Style Gentle Flame Stream! " Out from his mouth came a white flame that flowed over the piece of equipment, incinerating it almost instantly. The rest of the class, teachers including, had to turn away from the intense heat that could be felt nearly twenty yards away. Making well known to everyone the insanely dangerous potential of the jutsu. Naruto landed, a smug grin on his face. " And that class, is how you burn something." He Turned to the place were the jungle-gym used to be, a pile of ash in its place. " Um... sorry about that " The teacher's and the rest of the class were at a lose for words. Never before had any of them seen such a jutsu.

One of the proctors looked at the blonde kid. " What the hell was that?" Naruto smiled as he explained. " I was born with two elements. Fire and wind. Over the past few years, I experimented with using these two elements together in various ways. It's common knowledge that fire needs oxygen to burn. Wind is essentially oxygen. If I combine the two, the fire attack will be greatly increased to the point that its bigger and much hotter. Simply put, I breathed out fire and wind at the same time. I call it, scorch style." The teacher's looked at him, jaws to the ground. They immediately started to whisper and write down notes at a pace that was simply incredible. Naruto walked over to a Sasuke in denial and gave him a wink. " Maybe someday you'll be at my level." He and his friends walked back into the building as they listened to the Uchiha spout of a mixture of unpleasantries and swear words, all directed towards him.

As the class came into the room, Ino could hear the student's talk about Naruto. " Did you see that? Oh man that was so cool. He destroyed that jungle-gym like it was nothing. I thought he was just a goofball!" Everyone quieted down again as Iruka walked into the class, results in hand. " Ok guys, from here on you will be put under a jonin sensei with two other class mates. Make sure to respect your teacher and your teammates. * ahem * O.k. Team Eight will be Hinata Hyuga, Shino Aburame, and Kiba Inuzuka. Team Ten will be Ino Yamanaka, Naruto Uzumaki , and Shikamaru Nara. Naruto cheered as he high fived his friends. Ino was equally pleased with the decision, relieved to be on the same team with people she actually knew. Shikamaru was also glad in his own, disinterested way.

" And finally, Team 7 will be Sakura Haruno, and Sasuke Uchiha." Sakura cheered at hearing this, incredibly happy at being on a team, one on one with her major crush. Sasuke sighed, he'd just have to deal with this until he could get enough power to kill a certain someone." I know that your team only has two people, so just do your best! O.k class, you will now go to your meeting points and get to know your group leader. Dismissed! Oh, don't forget to take your headbands, they will stay with you for your entire shinobi career. Take good care of them.

Team ten got each of their head bands. Naruto wrapping it around his head, Ino had put it around her waists, and Shikamaru wrapped it around his left arm. Each team found out where they were supposed to meet and proceeded to head there. Team ten found themselves heading for the roof, talking excitedly about all the things they were going to do. They reached the rooftop and looked around to spot of tall guy leaning against one of the chain fences, a cigarette in his mouth. He heard them approaching and gave them a glance. " So your the squirts i'm stuck with for the next few years huh? Guess I might as well get to know you. Get over here and sit down." Naruto and Ino smiled, they liked him already. " So, what are your dreams and ambitions. Any goals for the future? Oi' blonde guy, you start."

Naruto sat up, a look of determination on his face." My name is Naruto Uzumaki and I want to grow up to become the hokage someday and show everyone my power!" Ino was next. " I'm Ino Yamanaka and I want to become the first female hokage in history!" Naruto grinned at Ino, he was rubbing off on her. Shikamaru was last. * sigh * " What a drag, I haven't really thought about what i've wanted to do with my life yet. Guess i'll just wing it. " The smoking jounin just looked at his students with some amazement. He had two student's that were striving to become the next hokage, and a student that couldn't care less. This was going to be fun. " I might as well introduce myself. I'm Asuma Sarutobi, my goal is to whip you punks into the best ninja Konoha has ever seen. That is, if you really want it." His comment got a instantaneous reaction. Both Naruto and Ino jumped up and raised their fists." Hell yeah we do!" Shikamaru just sat there and grumbled a little.

" Well alright then. Meet me at training ground six tomorrow, seven o'clock sharp. I will then test you to see if you really are worth my time and effort. Dismissed!" Asuma watched as the group of friends walked down the building and out of his sight, chatting excitedly. The jounin leaned against the wall, taking a deep drag of his cigarette. His mind wandered to previous conversation he had held with his old man.

F.B

_" What did you want to tell me pops? I assume it's fairly important, considering you wanted me in your office immediately " Asuma said as he leaned against the wall of the hokage's office, a cigarette in hand. The old man sighed," You really do have to quit smoking, its very bad for your health." The younger Sarutobi just smiled." You smoke to you know." The hokage nodded slightly." Not nearly to the extent that you do though. Just make sure not to do it around the kids that often. * ahem * Pleasantries aside, I need to tell you something about the team that your going to receive soon. On your team, I have put Naruto." Asuma's eyebrows raised. " The nine tails kid"? The hokage nodded. " I have put him on your team because I know your going to treat him just like any other student, and because I want you to report to me if anything happens. He has massive potential, enough so that be might even surpass Minato some d__ay." Asuma almost drooped his cigarette, his father never handed out compliments lightly. Let alone saying that this kid could someday overpass the fourth hokage. " I know I can trust you Asuma." He nodded quickly. " No problem, I can handle him. Just leave it to me pops." _

F.B End

Asuma threw his cigar down and crunched it out with his foot. Now, I just have to think of a test hard enough for these damn kids. Several scenarios ran through his mind as he walked off, the cigarette gently burning out on the smooth pavement.


End file.
